Should schools take over childcare?

George Megalogenis in Lift in tax-free threshold poses new problems for working women forking out for childcare looks at the increasing costs of child care and wonders if it might be more appropriate for the school system to take over the role:

Chasing costs up with rebates doesn't help anyone in the end. A radical but more logical approach would be for the public school system to offer early learning for children aged two to four years. The private sector would be free to compete on quality, as it does in primary and secondary schooling.

That may hurt the budget in the short term, but it would settle the affordability and participation debates with the one transaction. A reform on this scale would ultimately force government to junk the spending that is not serving the national interest.

I think this idea makes some sense. However, I would imagine that it would be pretty hard to get it implemented with all the vested interests that would oppose it.